Literary translators, in addition to dealing with the difficulties inherent to translations of all fields, must consider the aesthetic aspects of the text, its beauty and style, as well as its marks (lexical, grammatical, or phonological), keeping in mind that one language’s stylistic marks can be drastically different from another’s. In the case of the [...]
January 27, 2010 ( Scott J )
How Translators and Interpreters Can Help Haiti
The horrific and devastating tragedy that befell Haiti calls for all of us to contribute in any way and as much as possible to help the country move forward. As professional translators and interpreters, we can also do our part in this international effort. A few days after the tragedy, Translators Without Borders released an [...]
January 15, 2010 ( Scott J )
Client Glossaries
As we have brought up in other posts, large translation projects need more care and attention in order to maintain consistency in the translation throughout the document(s). This coherence in terminology must be respected by all members of the work team.
The client can be the one who provides the list of terminology through the use [...]
January 8, 2010 ( Scott J )
World Affairs Article: Let Languages Die
Esteemed linguist John McWhorter has published an article on the coming century in language evolution. Working on the idea that 90% of the world’s 6,000 languages will not survive to be in use in 2109, Mr. McWhorter then tells us why that’s not such a bad thing for him.
The basis for his argument is that [...]
January 5, 2010 ( Scott J )
Translation Studies
Texts have been translated between languages empirically, by hand. This doesn’t mean that people have not spent time reflecting and theorizing on the art of translation or that the great translators of history have stopped proposing their own theories.
However, only recently have linguists elevated translation to a scientific category by creating a branch of applied [...]
December 31, 2009 ( Scott J )
One Japanese New Year’s Celebration
While taking my time to look around and appreciate all that other cultures have to offer in terms of variety and uniqueness, I stumbled across this fantastic post describing the tradition on the Japanese peninsula of Oga:
http://samuraidave.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/japanese-devils-scare-the-laziness-out-of-kids/
In short, the tradition centers around Namahage, a local mountain deity who…well, he must be seen to be believed [...]
December 23, 2009 ( Scott J )
Christmas in Russia – Ded Moroz
We are all aware that celebrations vary from country to country, but one that sticks out for its unique nature is the Russian figure of Ded Moroz (literally “Grandfather Frost”).
He was a legend of folklore for many years as a dark and wicked figure who stole children and would demand presents from the parents to [...]
December 19, 2009 ( Scott J )
Book Club Meeting #2
Just in time for Christmas, I have found “On the Death and Life of Languages” by Claude Hagege is now available at my favorite bookstore and I must say that I am intrigued.
Here is a description from the publisher:
Twenty-five languages die each year; at this pace, half the world’s five thousand languages will disappear within [...]
December 18, 2009 ( Bryant H )
The Punjabi Language
It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of languages of the Indo-European family, which we spoke of HERE.
It is mainly spoken in the Punjab region (between India and Pakistan) and, globally, there are some 100 million speakers of this language.
It derives from dialects such as Hindi and it basically employs the Gurmukhi alphabet for writing, which [...]
December 17, 2009 ( Scott J )
Automatic Translation Websites
Several websites have popped up that are in the business of automatic translation. Some of them are just general, and others are specialized in certain subjects and offer their services to anyone who is looking to translate any word or phrase.
We also have online dictionaries that are specific to fields such as medicine, legal, technical, [...]
December 16, 2009 ( Bryant H )
When Translation and SEO Collide
Working as a translator (or at least a good one) implies exercising a high level of attention to detail, the kind of nit-pickiness that will drive your friends mad but which will elate your clients. Translators need to have a strong command of both their source and their target languages to be able to do [...]
December 13, 2009 ( Scott J )
The Importance of Language in Diplomacy
The United States government has a high demand for linguists. President Obama’s administration is looking to put more emphasis on diplomacy through more effective multilingual communication in all areas: intelligence, defense, State Department agencies, etc.
The ILR (Interagency Language Roundtable) was created and includes several agencies of the State Department. Its main focus will be increasing [...]
December 12, 2009 ( Bryant H )
Is “usted” Really Always the Best Option?
I’ve noticed lots of confusion regarding this matter: many people are under the impression that it’s correct to use “usted” at all times, in all cases.
I’m afraid that that’s not correct, however: not always, not in all cases. It depends on the objective to be accomplished.
According to the Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltConsulta?TIPO_BUS=3&LEMA=usted):
“Usted” [...]
December 11, 2009 ( Bryant H )
Why Multilingualism Counts for So Much
As a translator and as someone that is surrounded by multilingual individuals on a daily basis at work, I’d have to say that I find the process and the effort of grappling with various languages to be enormously rewarding. As somebody that grew up in a multilingual home I am convinced it is something that [...]
December 9, 2009 ( Scott J )
Monkeys Can Now String Words Together to Make Sentences
I have already touched upon how our simian relatives seem to be making strides in communication with language here. Now word comes from the Ivory Coast that it appears that the Campbell’s monkey in the Tai National Park there is able to take its simple calls (“hok hok hok!” or “boom boom”) and combine them [...]
December 4, 2009 ( Scott J )
Using Latin in Legal Documents (With Glossaries)
Anyone who has ever translated or taken part, in any capacity, in a legal proceeding can attest to the fact that there is a multitude of phrases and expressions that are pure Latin and yet are used in documents in many languages without translation. They remain unchanged to maintain uniformity throughout the world in various [...]
December 3, 2009 ( Bryant H )
The Persian Language
It belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family, which we spoke about HERE.
More than 60 million people are native speakers of this language, and they are distributed across Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Oman, the Arab Emirates and India, as well as members of the Persian diaspora.
The ISO and the Academy of Persian [...]
December 2, 2009 ( Scott J )
Specialized Translation Agencies
I recently read an article about the new national certification given to medical interpreters of Spanish in the United States. I think this is actually quite important, especially for the people who are receiving medical services. Unfortunately, these people have a very low level of education.
In addition, they are looking to include languages besides Spanish [...]
December 1, 2009 ( Bryant H )
More Automatic Translation Gadget News
As a translator, it is with a fair share of trepidation and chagrin that I “celebrate” news (such as the topic of today’s post) relating to new gadgets that facilitate–or usurp!–the job of the translator or interpreter. Nonetheless, the gadget we’re going to be looking at here is just too nifty to disregard, and, thankfully, [...]
